Brubaker ranked leading lobbyist at NC Legislature

The top leader in the North Carolina House during the mid-1990s is now atop a nonpartisan group’s list of the General Assembly’s most influential lobbyists.

The North Carolina Center for Public Policy Research announced Tuesday that Republican Harold Brubaker ranked No. 1 on the list during the 2013 session.

Brubaker was speaker from 1995 through 1998 as Republicans led the House for the first time in a century. He served in the House for 35 years, leaving in 2012.

As a lobbyist, Brubaker has represented Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina and the North Carolina Association of Realtors among others.

Dana Simpson ranked No. 2 on the list. He was No. 1 in the 2011 session.

Rankings are based on surveys filled out by legislators, lobbyists and media.